Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Rache im Herzen by Xiran Jay Zhao

113 reviews

madmantha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What a great book!! I cannot wait for the sequel! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Addiction, Classism, Blood, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Body horror, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Child abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual content, Police brutality, Grief, Violence, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

alex_salamander's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, War, and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Torture

Minor: Fatphobia, Grief, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Ableism, Body shaming, Rape, Slavery, Physical abuse, and Bullying

cherry_lake's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

What a ride!! Omg I haven’t read a book like that in so long. Dynamic, unapologetic story of vengeance, power, love and war. It was like watching an anime. While this book is not highly detailed in its world building, it is sooo evocative and exciting, and it’s the first in a series so I’m actually so pleased with the amount of world building!! Can’t wait for more. Thank you Xiran Jay Zhao! 

If you’re wondering if you should read it… if you are tired of watered down dystopian YA novels, moralizing characters, mind NUMBING gender stereotypes (I’m including the stereotypes of the characters who are supposedly breaking the stereotypes as well!!), pussyfooting romance plot lines that are too afraid to commit — then this you might really love.

Also, I listened to the audiobook and the narrator is phenomenal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Body horror, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Torture, Violence, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

inthemoonlight's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, War, Alcoholism, Addiction, Misogyny, Death, Kidnapping, and Sexism

Minor: Colonisation and Rape

xoemax's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Classism

Minor: Colonisation

kbairbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

CHILLS. The rage, the revenge, the sit down little boy and let me handle it. Everything. I have been waiting for a book like this my whole life. I absolutely loved it. I want to reread it this instant. Absolutely stunning and I CANNOT WAIT FOR BOOK TWO.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Gaslighting, Child death, Cursing, Body shaming, Grief, Colonisation, Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Mental illness, Biphobia, Blood, Classism, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, and War

matturay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't usually read sci-fi, but this book grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Medical content, Child abuse, Child death, Torture, Blood, Cursing, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Ableism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Bullying, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Death of parent, Genocide, Murder, Rape, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Classism, War, Colonisation, Gore, and Sexual harassment

paracosim's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was good, but exhausting. The misery and hellish lives of the characters in this book were endless to the point of making me a little anxious, and I’m not someone who’s easily affected by dark or triggering stories. I actively seek out books like this. I kept reading because the writing is phenomenal and the plot itself is excellent, but there were times that I debated putting the book down and DNFing. What kept me reading were the characters. I really needed to know what was going to happen next, even as I dreaded it lol. Until the last few pages I had no plans to read the sequel…but geez, now I’m desperate for its release. Overall this is a fantastic book, but be aware of your emotional state when you get into it. It packs a real whopper.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Rape, War, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Hate crime

Minor: Colonisation

alyssadorn's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Oh my fucking god this book might be the best I’ve read all year. The characters are so well-written, and I love a protagonist who is passionate, strategic, unapologetically ruthless, and more than a little unhinged. A morally grey antiheroine through and through whose character development is unmatched. (I support women’s rights and, more importantly, I support women’s wrongs.) 

Everything from Zetian’s backstory to her goals and relationships, her values and realizations, all growing and changing along with her (and our) knowledge of the world as a whole— So. Well. Done. I’m obsessed with her, as well as Lizhi and Shimin. I love that they’re all together and not just each with her separately or any bs like that. 

And that ending! And the epilogue!! Every minute of this book was a thrill, and the writing style was so refreshing with its use of juxtaposition to bring Zetian’s sardonic humor to life in a way that made me laugh quite a bit, and I found myself using tabs what felt like every other page to mark intense imagery or pithy statements that drill straight into the heart of poignant truths (usually about gender roles and subjugation stated in a way I still can’t get out of my mind). 

For example, the author will pair a list of seemingly smaller domestic moments with a bigger, life-or-death situation in a way that shows the realities of daily life in this world and its cyclical injustices— and how the daily life is not seeing those injustices. 

“My mother’s mist-frail voice emerges, trying to calm him down. My brother is laughing. My grandfather has turned the livestream to peak volume. A girl is dying in a Chrysalis in the name of mankind.” 

Some moments of that pithy, sardonic wit I loved: 
“How am I supposed to sign up for my death if my eyebrows are uneven?”
“I don’t pity you, you dork. I cherish you.” 
Or even just the chapter titles, like “the supposed pinnacle of female existence” or “a butterfly that better not be my dead sister” 

I will say, the description of the foot binding in the beginning is one of the few moments in any book that have actually made me sick to my stomach, so go gently. Also the way addiction is handled in this book is somewhat problematic. 

The pacing and writing style are both phenomenal!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, War, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Colonisation and Sexual violence

iane_reads's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Ableism, Death, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Child death, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Torture, Murder, War, and Hate crime

Moderate: Classism, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, and Trafficking

Minor: Biphobia, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Infidelity, Death of parent, Deportation, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content